New owner of 97 Aurora

Id like to take the time to say hello to all as I just found this web site a few days ago. At this time Im a proud owner of a 97 Olds Aurora that I bought 3 months ago for $9000 with 55,000 miles on the clock. It has a black interior that looks like brand new with a metallic bule-green paint on the outside. It has a few scratches here and there, what do you expect for a 6-7 year old car, but no dents or dings anywhere. It has all options execpt for heated seats and the autobahn package and will hit 110 mph before the fuel is cut off. I have loved the looks of the Aurora since the fitst time I saw one in 95 but because of the $40,000 price tag never thought Id own one. I purchased this car because my 92 Pontiac Bonniville SSEi was falling apart with 205,000 mile on it and I had enough of it! Now for the bad part, I am now going through extreme withdraws from my Aurora as on the 31st of Oct a was rearended while siting at a redlight by a little Honda Civic that did $3600 worth of damage to my pride and joy! Worse of all she didnt have any insurance so my uninsured motorist coverage of my insurance is covering the damage and will be going after her for payment! Local bodyshop has had my car for 3 weeks now with a end coimming by early next week. Since the Honda dove under my car and trashed my exhause system Im going to have stainless Flowmaster 50 series Delta Flows put on in there place to give my V8 the sound it should have. I was wondering if any one else has put these Flowmaster on their car and how they sounded? I want a nice v8 rumbel on the outside but I dont want it to be a pain in my ears on the highway with the windows up, ac on, and stereo going.
Anybody have any sugestions?


BKVic

How much damage was done to the system? If it shoved everything forward, are you sure the converter and manifolds are not cracked? If you even suspect they are, demand that they're replaced. It's not your fault you were hit, or that they were not insured. Then suggest to the adjuster that a $999 Corsa all stainless cat-back system is less than the factory system, and there you go! If you can't, then Flowmaster, Magnaflow, Dynomax all work good welded to the stock pipes. Only the cheap mufflers that are designed to be loud are also loud inside the cabin.

Indy8

Thanks for the info! As for the damage, both rear mufflers are trashed as well as the Y pipe the leads to them. Not sure if the converter or manifolds are bad yet. I do know my car wasnt any louder after she hit me so I dont think anything was cracked but something else could be bent up. She shoved the two mufflers forward about 12 inches but it looks like the y-pipe just widened to make up for it. The body shop dosent do the exhaust but sends it to an exhaust shop and said they will call me after they look at it to see if the converter or anything else needed replaced. The factory mufflers are $305 each for the Aurora and the y-pipe is $150 so there is $780 just for that. Have you heard anything about the RMS exhaust for the Aurora?


BKVic

Are you referring to RSM Racing in Canada? If so, no I have not heard of anyone buying or installing one of their systems. I mentioned the Corsa because it seems, after lengthy debate in the now-closed GM Forums site, it gave the best horsepower and quality return for the dollar. It's actually the Caddy STS system, with the s-bend section before the muffs re-bent to a steeper angle. You would need to find a shop to have this done(mandrel bending) during installation for proper fit and to center the tips in the rear bumper cover cut-outs. Corsa is aware of the desire for an Aurora specific system, and were on the verge of producing them if they collected enough requests. Caddyinfo.com has all the dyno results posted using the Corsa. Also, to hear it on an STS, go to corsaperf.com. Someone did make a comment about the RSM system being an overpriced, pieced together set that any performance muff shop could do cheaper. I can't verify any of that. I still have a stock exhaust, but want to add 2.5" pipes at the Y, with Magnaflow polished muffs and their 35175 tips that resemble the factory ones.

Indy8

After looking into the Corsa exhaust I discovered they are not to far from my house 1 1/2 hour drive. Im kinda hoping the converter is trashed and maybe even the pipe after the convertert but before the y-pipe.:) Maybe after I find out all the damage that is done I could put in about $250-$300 of my own money to get that exhaust, kinda hard this time of the year with Christmas right around the corner and three kids and a wife that want compensated for putting up with me for another year!:)


BKVic

I'm going to blow off a little related steam here. Insurance rates are high enough, especially here in California, and I don't feel the companies should have to pay to customize peoples cars after accidents. But where's the compensation for the fact that your car will never really be the same again, your inconvenience and time, not to mention time off work if the shops hours don't line up with yours. Providing a rental car doesn't cut it. If you get injured on the job, your medical bills are completely paid until full recovery, PLUS some settlement amount is offered in exchange to close the case(so you can't sue them later). I've seen a co-worker get $600 for a sprained ankle! Adjusters are instructed to restore the vehicle to pre-accident condition, this usually means only factory parts will be paid for because of warranty conditions. They're shooting themselves in the foot here. A much better aftermarket product is available for less and they're worried about it falling apart, and then you coming back to them about it. It should be your choice. Sign a waiver, whatever, they should feel lucky you're not suing. If you do, then all would have to come out of the settlement. I just think there should be a little more negotiating room in "fender bender" situations. I'm done.